This study uses calendar year 2011 point-of-sale transaction data from a leading grocery retailer to examine the food choices of SNAP and non-SNAP households . On average, each month's transaction data contained over 1 billion records of food items bought by 26.5 million households in 127 million unique transactions.
This study examined the feasibility of creating a data collection system capable of directly and automatically providing USDA with item-level data on purchases made by SNAP households. Data would be captured at the point of sale from purchases made using EBT cards.
Section 4031 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 required a study to determine the feasibility of operating SNAP, or an alternative model of benefit delivery, in the CNMI. This report assesses the CNMI's capacity to administer SNAP in six key SNAP program areas; describes potential barriers to implementing SNAP and modifications that might be needed; and explores which elements of SNAP could be implemented under the existing block grant structure.